Alan Johnson will tell police to stop violent men returning to their homes

Monday 28 September 2009 19.05 EDT
First published on Monday 28 September 2009 19.05 EDT

Violent husbands and partners will be banned from returning to their homes under powers to be unveiled today by the home secretary, Alan Johnson.

The police will be able to immediately ban anyone arrested for domestic violence from returning to their family home and the immediate neighbourhood for up to 14 days.

Ministers hope that the domestic violence protection orders – known as "go orders" ‑ will give victims breathing space to consider their options. More than 200,000 people, mainly men, are arrested for domestic violence, with around 750,000 incidents reported to the police each year.

The initiative will be accompanied by the announcement of a national victims service by the justice secretary, Jack Straw, designed to provide one-to-one care and support for the most vulnerable victims and match the close supervision of offenders by the probation service.

The two announcements will be matched by Gordon Brown stressing his renewed interest in tackling antisocial behaviour in his conference speech. Labour's private polling has recently shown a resurgent concern about anti-social behaviour and low-level crime among voters. Johnson has said that he wants to making increasing the number of asbos a key aspect of his period as home secretary but has made clear that he believes the police already have sufficient powers to tackle the problem. But he wants to see greater use of asbos by the police and will tell the Labour conference today that "safe streets are as fundamental to a good society as decent healthcare and educational standards".

Legislation to introduce domestic violence protection orders is expected to form part of the policing and crime bill this autumn.

Currently victims can receive immediate protection only if the police arrest and charge a perpetrator and appropriate bail conditions are set or a civil injunction is sought by the victim. The Home Office says that if this does not happen, the only option for victims may be to escape to temporary accommodation.

The proposals would mean that police would be able to give evidence on the victims' behalf, using statements from other witnesses including neighbours, family and friends, relevant photographs or evidence of a previous pattern of offending by the perpetrator. Home Office sources said breach of the orders could lead to court action for contempt, including possibly a term in prison.

The banning orders, which are modelled on schemes in Austria and Switzerland, will be piloted in two police areas to test their impact on the criminal justice system. The initiative is one of the emerging findings from the Association of Chief Police Officers' review of powers to address violence among women.

Johnson will tell the Labour conference: "For too long it seemed to be accepted that domestic violence against women and girls was a private matter."

The home secretary will point out that police are making more arrests and raising conviction rates but are often unable to stop the violent man from returning to the property.

"That is why I am bringing forward measures … to stop the aggressor returning not just to the house but to the whole immediate area, and forcing him to remain out of the vicinity for a set period."